![]() ![]() īy 1971, Grand Funk equaled the Beatles' Shea Stadium attendance record, but sold out the venue in just 72 hours whereas the Beatles concert took a few weeks to sell out. The band spent $100,000 on a New York City Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home. That album was certified multiplatinum despite a lack of critical approval. In the spring of 1970, Knight launched an intensive advertising campaign to promote the album Closer to Home. The hit single " I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)", from the album Closer to Home, released in June 1970, was considered stylistically representative of Terry Knight and the Pack's recordings. Despite critical pans and little airplay, the group's first six albums (five studio releases and one live album) were quite successful. In February 1970 a second album, Grand Funk (or The Red Album), was awarded gold status. In August 1969 the band released its first album titled On Time, which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record in 1970. Patterned after hard-rock power trios such as Cream, the band, with Terry Knight's marketing savvy, developed its own popular style. ![]() After a raucous, well-received set on the first day of the festival, Grand Funk was asked back to play at the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival II the following year. First achieving recognition at the 1969 Atlanta International Pop Festival, the band was signed by Capitol Records. Knight soon became the band's manager and also named the band as a play on words for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a well-known rail line in Michigan. ![]() Grand Funk Railroad was formed as a trio in 1969 by Mark Farner (guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Don Brewer (drums, vocals) from Terry Knight and the Pack, and Mel Schacher (bass) from Question Mark & the Mysterians. All in all, On Time is way too patchy of an album to please the casual listener but provides a few hints of and contains enough worthwhile moments to please the group's fans.A Grand Trunk Western Railroad bridge (located at 42★9'56.2"N 83☄1'35.6"W) in Grand Funk's hometown of Flint, Michigan, that was re-painted to instead show the band's name, as well as the first names of founding members Mark Farner and Don Brewer, and early 1980s bassist Dennis Bellinger Formation (1969) "Time Machine" is another highlight, a bluesy shuffle built on Mark Farner's wailing vocals and a catchy, stuttered guitar riff. Both of these sturdy tunes appropriately became mainstays of Grand Funk Railroad's live show for many years to come. Despite these problems, there are some strong tunes in the mix: "Are You Ready" is an exuberant rocker built on one of Mel Schacher's trademark walking basslines and "Into the Sun" is a clever tune that starts as a mellow mid-tempo jam before blossoming into a stomping rocker with a funky guitar riff. The standout example of this problem is "TNUC," a loose-limbed tune that wears out its welcome with an overlong and unstructured drum solo. In terms of arrangements, the band often places an aimless jam where a tight instrumental break should be. #Grand funk railroad albums seriesThe biggest problems in terms of songwriting are the often-amateurish lyrics: "Anybody's Answer" is a sincere but muddled attempt at a message song that expends a lot of energy without ever focusing on a particular target and "Heartbreaker" is a love lament that is content to trot out a series of well-worn heartbreak clichés. Although the exuberant energy and power-trio theatrics that would fuel their 1970s hits are in place, the group's songwriting and arranging abilities are very much in their infancy. Grand Funk Railroad's 1969 debut is a wildly uneven affair. ![]()
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